Thunderbird Wakį́yą
Wakiya, or Aquila, is a Native American legend, based off the story of Thunderbird and Whale, but she has many more tales to tell of herself. She is closely associated with one of the two Iroquois leaders, Hiawatha. Before the Thunderbird, Aquila had two other forms - a human and a bald eagle. Before the Thunderbird Ikhswenhsa:kweks "As I was sleeping for what seemed like a few minutes, but in reality was decades, I dreamt a dream that I would always remember. A dream that showed me of my two past selves - a woman, then a bald eagle. The woman was a half Kanien'keh - like you - and a half Syrian Assassin. She and her friend, also a Mohawk halfbreed Assassin, had very harsh lives. Her name was Ikhswenhsa:kweks - the Hating Eagle - and her friend was Ratonhnhaké:ton - the Life That Is Scratched. Ikhswenhsa:kweks was taken over by all the terrible moments in her life. She was overcome by fear, anger, but mostly hate. The only one she ever loved was her own daughter. Ratonhnhaké:ton lost literally everything, and yet he stood strong. He had the hope Ikhswenhsa:kweks lacked. In the face of everything that insisted he turn back - even when his people left him... He still walked the path. He gave us freedom. He '''is' freedom."'' --Aquila, telling Hiawatha of her first form. Aquila's first form was Ikhswenhsa:kweks, however this form doubted almost everything, even her own existence. She was a loving child, and wouldn't miss any opportunity to play. She loved her father more than anything in the world, apart from her own daughter, and would always look forward to his annual coming over to the village where her tribe resided. This all changed after an incident which occured at the age of 4, while the children of the village were playing Hide and Seek in the forest. Her friend, Ratonhnhaké:ton at the mere age of 5, was found by a group of Templars (people seeking the power to change the world to their selfish needs - the enemies of the Assassins) and violently interrogated him. The Templars found him useless and left him unconscious. Ikhswenhsa:kweks waited for him to wake up. When he did, the two headed back to the village to find it burning. While Ratonhnhaké:ton ran off to find his mother (his father was a British Templar), Ikhswenhsa:kweks found her parents in her longhouse. Her mother was weeping silently and burning alive, while her father was impaled and dying in pain. The screams and sights traumatised Ikhswenhsa:kweks, and since then she became extremely violent, hot-tempered and sadistic. Aquila "My second form was a bald eagle. Her name was Aquila, a name I still consider as my true name. She lived a short but happy life, as her sole purpose was to soar to the place where I was born, and well, reborn as the Thunderbird. She had all the memory of Ikhswenhsa:kweks' life, but did not pass on those traits, otherwise I too, would be sadistic and violent. Aquila may as well have represented all the good things in life. She showed me the world's potential, and all the things we have to appreciate nature for. At the same time, however, she has showed me the effects of human existance. War, deforestation, pollution... If only they could live like we were supposed to, like the indigenous live. The world would be a much safer place for all." --Aquila, telling Hiawatha about her second form. Upon Ikhswenhsa:kweks' death, a feather had been blown from her corpse by the wind and travelled to the top of a mountain and then swayed gently to an eyrie. At the same time the feather landed, an egg hatched from the eyrie. An eaglet. The eaglet lived an average life for a few weeks, however this had changed when the nest was attacked by a Peregrine Falcon. The chick had been separated from her parents and had to survive until she could hunt eating worms and harmless snakes. When able, she had spent most of her time practicing on how to fly for long periods of time, as she knew of the long journey to Mt. Katahdin ahead. The rest of her time was spent hunting or sleeping. Finally, she reached adulthood and soared for weeks without food or water until finally she reached her goal. She then lay down, plucked a flight feather and died from thirst and starvation. The feather had landed at the top of a mountain peak nearby, covered in snow. The feather then glowed gold, the snow melted and the Thunderbird lay, waking up for the first time. Legends Arrive The Thunderbird roamed the lands of the United States, searching for the purpose of her life. She saw the robins that sung happily, the falcons that dived swiftly, the swans that swam beautifully and the eagles that soared freely. Thunderbird knew of the great power she possessed, but couldn't help but envy the birds. There must be others like me, she thought... she hoped. And there was. There were many legends out there, but she wasn't aware of it... until that one day. The Thunderbird was sitting quietly on her mountain with the rain and lightning surrounding her, as she would do daily, pondering what to do with her life, when she sensed a power coming from the north. There she flew, with lights in the sky... What was it they called that? Aurora Borealis? she asked herself. She landed on a glacier, where she was sure she saw a huge, white eagle in the distance. Must be a snowstorm. It was then Wakiya caught sight of a group of people, each wearing silk dresses with long sashes and thin scarves that would blow in the wind. They were playing with something. A ball of light. Wakiya approached in curiosity, watching them. The people stopped and looked at her, the Aurora fading away. Wakiya had many questions. "Who are you?" she asked. "We are the Wassan-mon-ganeehla-ak," one replied. "What is it you seek from us?" "What are you doing here?" "This is our home. Our kind have the power to create the Northern Lights through this ball. We are legends. And you?" "I am Wakiya, the Thunderbird. I come from America, and I have the power to create lightning through my eyes and thunder through my wings. I thought I was the only one with an abnormal power... it seems I was wrong." "There are many other legends out there too. Here lives Psonen, the snow-bringer. An eagle spirit who, creates, well, snow, through his wings. You may want to meet him, you two seem to have a lot in common." "Where might I find him, in that case?" "He was here not long ago. He should be further south, trying to visit your country, I heard." "Thank you, friends." The Thunderbird flew off to find this eagle spirit. It took a while before the white bird in the distance appeared again. Wakiya followed the bird who ended up on her mountain. At this, Thunderbird shrieked and attacked the figure, who appeared to be based on a Tawny Eagle, restraining him with her great strength. "Why do you intrude on my mountain?!" she yelled, making the sound of thunder. "This is your mountain? You are in great danger," the white bird replied. "I am Snow-bringer Psonen. Release me and I will explain." Wakiya did so, as Psonen pruned the feathers that were attacked. "Living near here is an evil bird spirit called Paloma. Some depict him as the God of Thunder and a protector of this land... but the truth is far from that," he sighed, shaking his head. "He takes people from here, enslaves them and inhabits Mt. Katahdin. As you can imagine, it really isn't that far from here. I am trying to find him. Will you help me... Wakiya?" the Tawny explained. Wakiya flinched a bit when she heard her name. "I see no reason not to. Let us go," Psonen smiled and the two soared off on their way to the mountain, when a sharp feeling struck Wakiya's back. She could sense something was wrong. Then the environment changed and the whole place froze over. The two stopped and landed to try and find Mt. Katahdin through the snowstorm, when Wakiya heard a slight but deafening hiss behind her... She tried to dash away, but a pair of fangs had caught her and before she or Psonen knew, a giant snake was constricting the great bird. Psonen lunged at the snake and hit his rock-hard scales with giant and more powerful than you'd guess snowballs, which made the snake flinch for a valuable few seconds, allowing Wakiya to escape the beast. They then flew high above the clouds where the serpent could not reach them. "That was probably one of the mildest of the legends, Kita-skog. To not know all this, you must be pretty disconnected from the rest of the world," Psosen said. "True. I am, and for all this time I've been searching for the purpose of my existence. I never knew all of... this..." Wakiya replied. "Now you do. Enough, we must go," Suddenly, the snow began to melt and bright-green grass appeared underneath. The sun was warm in a quick change, and the two looked up to a glowing Golden Eagle, whose flight feathers appeared to be a mix of orange and gold "Kisosen. Is it not nice to see you, again?" Psonen smiled. "To you too. You must be Wakiya," Kisosen replied. "I am Kisosen, Sun-bringer." "And I am Wakiya, Thunderbird." Wakiya introduced herself. "Now we are waiting on one more," Kisosen said. Wakiya's head tilted slightly in confusion. "Wad-zoo-sen, the wind eagle," he said in response. She then heard a tiny voice in her head. "Wakiya," the voice said. A female voice. "I am Awes-kon-wa. Come to Mohawk Valley, I will show you where the last one is," "I know where he is," Wakiya claimed. "Follow me," They soared over grand mountains, coursing rivers and lively forests until they finally reached the Valley, a beautiful and peaceful place like no other. But they weren't there just to observe the view. A small Winter Wren spirit approached. "This way," she said. The wren led them to a cave where a huge Harpy Eagle lay, tied up. Wakiya twitched at the sight. ''What person would rob this being of his freedom? ''With her hooked beak, Thunderbird cut the ropes and dragged Wad-zoo-sen out. He awoke at the warmth from the sun. "Finally... All these years in ropes... thank you," he said, pruning his feathers and stretching his wings. "Wad-zoo-sen. Paloma is here, we must deal with him," Psonen said. "Paloma? Then let us go," he replied. The 5 spirits returned to Mt. Katahdin, eager to be rid of this spirit. Kita-skog rose from the ground once again, hissing, and launched venom at the wren, who skilfully dodged. Thunderbird reacted by grabbing him while Kisosen would burn him with a harsh sunlight. Thunderbird then finished him off and continued towards the mountain. A Mountain Serpent Eagle, again, large in size, rose from the mountain and shrieked, almost making the call of the Red-tailed Hawk. The eagle had dark, red glowing eyes and an evil look. This was Paloma. An epic fight then occured between Paloma and the 5 spirits. The fight ended with Awes-kon-wa deceased, however the 4 eagles had overpowered him and were, once and for all, victorious. Thunderbird Wakiya then returned to Mohawk Valley and finally rested until needed, Snow-bringer Psonen returned to the North Pole and buried himself in the snow to rest, Kisosen returned to the sun and Wad-zoo-sen would soar above the clouds, hidden from the world but supplying it with the wind it needed to survive. The world was safe... For now. *What a cliche line* Thunderbird and Whale It was just another dry day in Mohawk Valley. The people were starving as usual and what resources they had left were to be offered to save their lives from the monster 'Whale', but even their mighty leader, Hiawatha, who managed to keep the Iroquois alive against all odds could do nothing about it. Suddenly, there was a loud roaring noise and dust was spread everywhere. "He's coming!" The people cried, "Hide!" Whale had come to steal from the Mohawks again. As Whale left, a giant, gold feather fell from the nearby sacred mountain. Hiawatha noticed, and immediately knew what to do. He climbed the mountain, carefully and steadily with the feather in his hand. It was difficult, for the feather was even bigger than himself. Hiawatha left the feather at the mountain beside a giant and stiff golden bird. It looked as if the bird was losing its colour, for she had been asleep for many, many years. The feather began to glow and golden eyes awoke. The Thunderbird has returned from her long slumber. "Hiawatha. What is it the people require from me?" she asked. "See for yourself. We are in need of your assistance again, our people are starving, our resources are all gone, because Whale has returned too," he told the great bird. "Ah, I see. It is a shame he woke before I did, but nevertheless he should not be troubling us anymore," "And I?" Hiawatha asked. "Return to the village. They will know I am awake and they will know that they are safe." "Thank you for everything, our protector," "It is what I do." It was then Thunderbird flew off towards the ocean in search of Whale. As she beat her wings, a storm brewed as the ocean waves rose and receded, revealing a trail of dead whales, no doubt killed by... well... Whale. "Aquila," Whale called out. "So you have found me! Congratulations, but what are you going to do? You cannot handle water and I do not think you should try to do so." "I think you are forgetting who is the whale and who is the eagle here. You have terrorised us enough, and it will end here," Thunderbird said, "And you know I do not like being called by my real name." "All the more reason to call you so," Whale said. Unamused, Thunderbird wasted no more time and struck her great talons hard into Whale's spine. An epic struggle occured between the two, when finally Thunderbird took hold of Whale and dropped him onto land, creating the sound of lightning. Hiawatha heard the sound from the village and, astounded by it, followed. As Whale was slowly dying, he grabbed Thunderbird and took her down into the ocean with him. "NO!" She cried with a deafening scream. She desperately flapped her wings and flashed her eyes in an effort to release Whale's grip, but it was too late. The dead Whale was dragging her slowly down to the bottom, and poor Hiawatha was forced to watch the tragic moment occur, but he did not give up hope. Thunderbird had lost all her power in the water and she desperately tried to swim her way to the top but to no avail. Her feathers stopped glowing completely and she fell to the bottom of the ocean, unconcious. Bald eagles had arrived in response to Thunderbird's cries for help, and this allowed a rescue team to find and save her from a terrible death, however only fragments of her power still remained and she had shrunk to the size of a normal eagle. The only power she had left was stored into her remaining golden feathers, at the tips of her wings and tail and since they were shrunken, it wasn't nearly as much as it was before. Thunderbird then woke up in Hiawatha's longhouse. "Our guardian... you are alive! The others were extremely worried, but I never lost hope," Hiawatha said. "That is good to know. You were always loyal to me, but... do you know what happened? I feel so... small," Thunderbird replied. "Thunderbird, you... lost your power when you almost drowned. We were lucky enough to save you, but not all your power," "That is alright, but I may not be able to protect you any more. It is time you take up full leadership and protect this village as I did. I no longer have the means to do so in this form, but you do. And that feather you left on the mountain?" "Here," "Good. Keep it, it is my gift to you, and this is your story to tell throughout generations. Goodbye, Hiawatha. Tell the others I have left, for it is now time for me to have my own life." "Goodbye, our guardian. Go with all the strength of the world," "One more thing. This is a secret I entrust to you only Hiawatha. Why I keep this a secret may be a mystery to you, but... My real name is Aquila." And with that, Aquila left America to explore the world. Eventually, she found the Blue Mountains and saw the natural beauty and peace of the place, perfect for her likes, and made an eyrie there, claiming that territory and protecting it from intruders. The end. Category:Aquila